1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to ski boots and safety ski bindings, and has specific reference to a combined ski boot and safety binding comprising more particularly a ski boot and a safety ski binding assembly in which the binding is set or embedded in the boot sole and capable of releasably retaining the boot on the ski by cooperating with a complementary member secured to the top surface of the ski.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ski boot and binding assemblies of this character are already known in the art, notably through the U.S. Pat. No. 3,899,190.
However, these known arrangements are objectionable for they are attended by the following inconveniences:
Under the boot sole there is provided either a recess or a relief portion adapted to cooperate with the complementary member carried by the ski. If a recess is provided, snow and mud may tend to accumulate therein when walking, and thus interfere with the proper operation of the safety release means. In the case of a relief portion, the skier's walk becomes uneasy.
Besides, the sole must be provided with non-skid notches or studs to permit walking. Yet, on the other hand, the coefficient of friction between the boot and the ski should be relatively low so that the boot can easily be released under torsion stress. These two contradictory requirements constitute a problem hitherto unsolved in the present state of the art.
The known assemblies of the type discussed herein do not provide any interaction between on the one hand the means retaining the boot against an upward movement in case of forward or backward fall, and on the other hand the means retaining the boot against rotation in case of a torsion stress. Now this interaction is extremely desirable from the point of view of safety. In fact, in case of complex fall, i.e. a fall combining torsion stress with a tractive stress, the skier's tibia is considerably more vulnerable than in case of a simple fall. Thus, when the skier is in a position of want of balance either forwards or backwards, his tibia may break under a lateral stress weaker than that required for breaking his tibia when he is in a normal position.